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With 15 million people,
Mumbai is the biggest,
fastest, richest city in India; it
is a city that is simultaneously
experiencing boom and
civic emergency. Mumbai
draws its population from
every corner of India and,
increasingly, the world.
According to one estimate on
any given day more than 1000
economic migrants arrive
here from poorer parts of
India. Most of these migrants
end up in slums such as
Dharavi.
The moment you land in
Mumbai airports, your senses
are assaulted by chaos and
overcrowding. The exhaust
is so thick the air boils like
hot soup. The city needs to
upgrade dramatically its
essential civic services:
roads, sewers, transport,
health, and security. But the
nicer the city becomes, the
more will be the number of
people who will want to come
and live there. Thus, there
will always be pressure on
the infrastructure, no matter
how great it is. |
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But the women of Dharavi, Mumbai’s most infamous slum, are up much before
the sun’s rays manage to paint the sky and brighten up the ground. These women
bicker constantly as they stand in a line with their metal and plastic vessels to
capture the trickle of water that comes out of the municipal tap. It is imperative
for them to collect water early in the morning because the municipal tap, the only
source of potable water in the area, dries up before 5 AM.
But water is not the only thing that is in short supply at Dharavi, almost
everything is, and the biggest scarcity is that of space. One or two room tenements,
many of them having first floors and even second floors precariously balanced on
them, are packed together like sardines in a can, leaving no room for ventilation
or garbage disposal. Each tenement houses at least 5 to 10 people, who have
got used to going through all the rituals of day-to-day life in a cramped space
measuring less than 10 square feet. The vast urban sprawl of this slum is home to
more than a million people, and it is still growing.
The whole area is absurdly squalid. There is one toilet here for every 150
people - but with little running water, even these are usually blocked. In the heat,
the stench is overpowering. A maze of dingy alleyways, many of them so narrow |
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that two persons may find it
difficult to walk side by side,
crisscross the slum and often
turn out to be the only means
of reaching the different
households in the area. Open
sewers and stinking rubbish
heaps is a common feature,
as are the goats and dogs
picking their way through
the debris, alongside children
searching for scraps.
The doors and windows
don’t fit properly, so gaps
are common leaving hardly
any privacy for those living
inside. Quite common are the
instances of a passersby being
able to catch a glimpse of sex
taking place inside any house
and passing lewd comments,
which invariably lead to a fracas. And it is just as easy
to overhear conversations
taking place inside any house,
as all the walls are jerrybuilt
and quite thin allowing
sound to pass easily. But the
residents of the area are not
complaining about the lack
of privacy in their life, there
being many more far graver
problems that they have to
tackle everyday. |
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70% of Mumbai’s total
population of approximately
15 million is estimated to be
living in slums. Most of these
slum dwellers are migrants
from poorer states like Uttar
Pradesh, Bihar and West
Bengal. Due to their poverty
these migrants are in no
position to live in a proper
accommodation, the only
alternative they have is to
eke out a living by building a
flimsy structure on any patch
of land that is available. Just
how crowded these slums
are becomes obvious when
you realize that the number
of people living in them
stands at 400,000 per square
kilometer.
Though the slums are spread
across all of Mumbai, it is the
one in Dharavi that enjoys the
unsavory distinction of being
Asia’s second largest slum. It
is also Mumbai’s oldest slum.
In a city where house rents
are spiraling out of control,
Dharavi continues to provide a
cheap and affordable option to
those who move to Mumbai to
earn their living. It is possible
to find an accommodation in
Dharavi for as little as 200
Rupees per month. An added
attraction lies in its location
in the center of the city, a
convenient distance from
suburban railway stations.
Despite the poor conditions
of the residents, the area is
not untouched by the lure
of basic urban amenities.
Even the smallest of rooms
at Dharavi, there usually
is a cooking gas stove and
continuous electricity. Many
residents have small color
TVs with a cable connection,
which can beam a regular
dose of their favorite soaps
and cricket matches. Some
of them even have a DVD
player. But Dharavi is not
only about its residents; it
is also about its commercial
enterprises, some of which
are so successful that their
owners can easily fall into the
middle class category.
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| 1. 70% of Mumbai’s population lives in slums. |
2. In some Mumbai slums almost 50 families or about
500 individuals share a single toilet. |
3. 70% of India’s population earns less than 1000
rupees a month. |
4. Child mortality in urban slums is 10 to 20 times
higher than in cities with adequate sanitation. |
5. In 20 years the infrastructure in Mumbai has
grown by 100%, but the number of squatters has
increased by more than 1,100%. |
6. Asia has 60% of the world’s slum-dwellers, Africa
20% and Latin America 14% |
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Side by side with overflowing drains, moulds of uncollected garbage and
threadbare tenements there exists an array of thriving smallscale
industries that produce embroidered garments, and
export quality leather goods, pottery and plastic. These smallscale
industries are based in Dharavi for a very good reason
and that reason is – cheap labor that is easy to find in the slum
because of its huge migrant population. The products made in
these tiny manufacturing units are sold in domestic as well as
international markets. It may sound unbelievable, but it is a
fact that the annual turnover of business here is estimated to
be more than Rs. 2,600 crores. |
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There is a popular middle class apprehension that slums
are concentrations of a dangerous and volatile population
that must be controlled and rigorously policed. The poor are
believed to be criminals, rioters, prostitutes and thieves. To
a certain extent it is true that the Mumbai slums have time
and again proved prone to crime, squalor, dirty politics and
communal riots. It was Dharavi’s fate to be the scene of some
of the worst carnage of the 92/93 riots in which many slum
dwellers were massacred and their houses and business
establishments looted and set on fire. But the riots and crime
cannot be squarely blamed on the slum dwellers. Many times
it is the work of outsiders. The fact is the word “slum” tells
us something about the atrocious living conditions, but it tells
us nothing about the quality of the people themselves. Just
as there can be good or bad people living in a posh locality, a
slum too has a mixture of good and the bad. Dharavi is made
up of communities of hard-working people, whose self-help,
endurance and capacity for survival should be a source of
inspiration. These are people who struggle relentlessly in their
quest for a decent living for themselves and for their family.
There is no doubt that the slum population are an exploited
lot, but they are resourceful and hard-working; their homes
may be small, they may lack the privacy, the ventilation or
the hygiene, but they refuse to wallow in a feeling of despair
and demoralization. In fact, majority of the maids who work
in the flats and bungalows in Mumbai are residents of slums
like Dharavi. But the rich folks have no idea where or how the
maids that they employ live. The salary for these maids is so
low that the only place where they can afford to live is a slum.
Because of their lowly situation, the slum dwellers become
easy target for the land mafia who are always conspiring to
encroach on public land. They are threatened by gangs of
human traffickers who find it easy to lure women from poor
families into prostitution. Then there are the politicians who
want to gain power by fanning the flames of communal hatred.
Yet despite all the pitfalls that they face on a daily basis, the
slum dwellers still manage to provide the city with cheap labor
and with high quality goods sold at affordable rates. There is a
popular saying that goes - If Mumbai has a heart then it must
reside in Dharavi. |
Why do poor and downtrodden people from all parts of
country flock to Dharavi? The answer to this question is
obvious – because it is famous for providing food and shelter
to anyone who arrives there. Talk to anyone in this area and
it is probable that he will tell you that his life has improved
since he moved here. A cramped existence, next to an open
drain, or a garbage dump, may not create the perfect picture
of an improved lifestyle, but these are people who come from
places with no hope. For them Dharavi is the closest thing to
paradise.
It is the hope of finding paradise that brought people like Kishore and Malini here. This
illiterate husband and wife
team migrated from Orissa.
At Dharavi their rented home
consists of a smoke-filled, 8-
foot-by-8-foot hut. A dim light
bulb hangs over a threadbare
bed fashioned from a large
wooden trunk. Inside their
hut there is no toilet, no sink.
For this hovel the couple pays
150 rupees a month. Rats are
constantly scurrying past, but
they don’t mind these pesky
creatures. “Rats are a sign of
good luck,” says Malini. “They
only come around if a family
has food.” When asked why
they have come to Dharavi,
Kishore explains, “In Orissa,
we didn’t even have enough
food to eat. But here jobs are
easy to get. We can afford to
eat three times everyday.”
Not every resident of
Dharavi is a recent migrant.
There are many who have
been living here for more than
30 or even 50 years. There is
Surendra who left his native
village in the state of Bihar 42
years ago. He was penniless
when he came here; all he had
with him was his dream of
earning a living as a painter.
In his own limited way he was
able to find success. Today
he is a commercial artist,
painting vast color banners to
advertise weddings and films.
Sitting cross-legged in the
family’s one room he has the
contented air of someone who
has found what he wanted
from life.
Surendra’s 24-year-old son
is well versed in computers.
The family had to take a loan
to buy a computer for him.
“Someday I’ll have my own
advertising agency,” says
Surendra’s son. “With four
people working for me.” The
family has no intention to
move out of Dharavi even
though they can easily afford |
to do so now. They have
become so used to living in
this area that moving out is
unthinkable. Like Surendra’s
son it is easy to find many
other young residents who are
studying computer science
and business administration
and dreaming about opening
a business here or elsewhere.
Far from being a center
of crime, as it is so often
portrayed, Dharavi is a
vibrant, energetic business
and manufacturing district
for many of its residents. It is
a place that offers hope and
solace to millions of migrants
who could find nothing to do
in their own native lands. |
The attitude that all slum
dwellers are criminals
continues to live on not just in
the minds of the rich, but also
in the minds of governments
and administrators who are
charged with running the
cities. Those in positions of
power need to realize that
about 70% of Mumbai’s
population resides in slums
and if all these people were
to take up crime as their
profession then Mumbai
would not remain a city of
dreams, it would turn into
a city of nightmare. Slums
comprise of communities of
people who are as honest
as any one of us and they
deserve an honest system of
laws to regulate their lives.
But that is what society has
denied them. Strange as it
may sound, property rights
are almost non-existent within
the boundaries of slums like
Dharavi. The most typical
insecurity that slum dwellers
have to brave on a daily basis
is the threat of having their
house demolished by the
authorities or forcibly taken
away from them by land
sharks. Because property
laws are so fluid they find
it difficult to register their
houses with any government
body. Slums are also plagued
by constantly changing
legislation, which threatens
livelihoods and homes. And of
course, there are the issues of
hygiene, lack of infrastructure
and overcrowding.
There is no doubt at all that
with better sanitation and
better law and order, slums
like Dharavi could offer much
better quality of life to its
residents. That is what society
owes to these hardworking,
brave residents of Dharavi
who symbolize the struggle
of Mumbai. |
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